Michigan Wolverines star quarterback alum J.J. McCarthy is prepping for his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings, who made him the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. McCarthy steps into a system tailor-made to his strengths in terms of having a ton of playmakers and a play action passing game as the staple of the system.
ESPN’s Jordan Reid thinks that is going to be his calling card at the next level and be an area that he sets the standard for in the NFL over the next five years.
“The Vikings led the NFL in under-center passing plays (207 dropbacks) and play-action snaps (217) last season, two categories where McCarthy had plenty of experience in Michigan’s scheme,” ESPN’s Jordan Reid wrote on May 16.
“The area he could lead the league in five years: QBR on play-action. Efficiency off these concepts is a strength of McCarthy’s game, and Minnesota runs a lot of it. He’s comfortable turning his back to the defense and resetting his eyes prior to making throws. His 90.4 QBR and 76.3% completion rate on play-action ranked sixth and seventh in the country, respectively, last season.”
McCarthy also had a notable weekend, crossing paths with Michigan alum and NFL legend Tom Brady at a Fanatics event.
Tweets of the day
Michigan quote of the day
“I don’t think up to this point It could have gone much better, to be honest. I think we’ve had 8 official visits, and we have 8 commitments. We’ve done a nice job as a staff at identifying guys that fit us, that were looking for the same things we were. We use the word ‘fit’ probably too much, but we found guys that fit us, and hopefully we fit them the same way. But we love the group that is coming into form.”
– Michigan head basketball coach Dusty May on building the program this offseason
Headlines of the day
Michigan State writer weighs in on Jaden Mangham’s transfer to U-M – Were sour grapes involved?
Loaded Michigan recruiting intel from Under Armour Baltimore
Dusty May talks history with Michigan, wearing the block ‘M’ — ‘it’s awesome’
Top 100 EDGE Rodney Dunham excited about new offer from Michigan
Rising 2026 Ohio TE Sam Hamilton recaps spring game visit to Michigan, meeting Steve Casula, more
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